1. Field of the Invention
This invention is generally directed to stands for use with hunting and target archery bows and more particularly to a bi-pod stand having a pair of detachable legs which include vibration damping elements to thereby reduce vibrational energy transmitted to the legs during use of the bows.
2. Brief Description of Related Art
A variety of stands have been developed for purposes of supporting archery bows not only to facilitate storage or display but also to provide stabilizing structures when bows are used for target use or hunting. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,256,872 to Koser, a stand and stabilizer for long bow type archery bows is disclosed which includes a bracket which is mountable to a portion of the riser or body of the bow and from which extend a pair of legs which form a bi-pod support structure. The legs are threadingly engaged with a block which is pivotally mounted to the bracket allowing the positioning of the legs. The stand is specifically designed for a long bow requiring that the bracket be attached to the body of the bow. When not in use, the legs are designed to be positioned adjacent to the body of the bow by pivoting the legs relative to the support bracket.
Stands have also been specifically designed for use with compound archery bows which generally include a stabilizer receiver or hole along the riser portions of the bows. U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,044 to Regard et al. discloses a portable compound bow stand having a bracket which is designed to be threadingly secured to the stabilizer receiver in the riser and which also includes a pair of legs forming a bi-pod stand. The legs are pivotal relative to the bracket to allow them to be positioned either at a forward support position or retracted against the lower portion of the bow when not in use.
A variation of support stand for compound type archery bows is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,360,179 to Roberts. The bow stand includes a single primary support leg which is treadingly received with the stabilizer receiver mounted or provided along the riser portion of the bow and a supporting bracket mounted at the bottom of the bow serving as a stabilizing surface.
At least a portion of each of the foregoing stands is specifically designed to remain fixed to the bow when not in use. Other examples of bow stands are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,205,992, 5,547,162 4,993,398, Des 314,303 and Des 406,302.